Malawi University of Business and Applied Sciences (Mubas) on Friday finished second at the regional women’s hackathon competition in Uganda.

Hackathon is an event where a large number of people meet to engage in collaborative computer programming. It was organised as part of the UbuntuNet Alliance Annual Conference held from October 23 to 26.

Other contestants were from Uganda, Zambia, Kenya and Zimbabwe whose team came third. The Zambia team emerged the winner.

The Mubas team comprised final-year bachelor of management information systems students Grace Gausi and Joyce Mtawali alongside bachelor of information technology final-year student Olivia Mkandawire.

The team’s entry was a platform they designed to archive electronic research dissertations to simplify access and eliminate duplication of dissertations among students in academic institutions.

Speaking on behalf of the group, Gausi expressed excitement at their achievement, saying: “We are thrilled to have come in second, especially considering the fierce competition.

“With over 300 applications, being selected was already a big win for us. To secure the second spot is a tremendous achievement.”

For the feat, the team received $1 500 (about K1.8 million).

Meanwhile, Mubas Vice-Chancellor Professor Nancy Chitera said in a written response to our questionnaire yesterday that the achievement aligned with the university’s focus on innovation and entrepreneurship.

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